Ontario county man going to prison on child pornography charges

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Eric Passalacqua, 37, of Phelps, NY, who was convicted of receipt and distribution of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison, 15 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that on January 20, 2023, the FBI in Rochester received information from the FBI in Anchorage Alaska, that an individual located in Phelps, NY, may have been responsible for exchanging child pornography with an individual in Alaska. Subsequent investigation determined that individual was Passalacqua. On January 24, 2023, a search warrant was executed at Passalacqua’s Phelps residence. A forensic examination of his phone recovered over 600 images of child pornography, including images that Passalacqua produced depicting a minor victim. Passalacqua also admitted to producing images of another minor victim.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia and the Anchorage Office of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Antony A. Jung.

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